More Timmy Pics

I found him like this just before I dropped the feeder fish in.


This is his latest hiding spot - see the biggest fish below him, that's the one he ate first.


You can see the suction cups at the top that he popped out so he could fit behind the posts of his dock.

One week with Timmy

I never realized before how much joy having a pet could bring. I bought Timmy(my turtle) a few feeder fish - I planned to only get 2 but the sales girl was having trouble just getting 2 of them out of the tank so I just said I'd take the 4. They're only 10c each. Well I put them all in Timmy's tank. After a couple hrs the biggest one (which I thought was too big for Timmy) started looking pretty bad - it was swimming really slowly then just lying on the bottom with only its gills moving, then it'd swim for a little while. I usu let the tap water I pour into Timmy's tank sit for a while before pouring it in to allow most of the chlorine to diffuse out. I don't use any water conditioners so I'm not surprised that the fish had a hard time. I figured I'd wait to see if it started floating on top then I'd just take it out - I didn't think it was small enough for Timmy anyway. After another hr, I looked in the tank and the fish was gone. Gone. Eaten by Timmy. I checked and there wasn't anything left of it anywhere in the tank. So I took the other 3 out b/c I didn't want him to eat anymore that day - he'd already been fed that morning and ate that big fish at night. So the next morning, I dropped one of them in his tank along with his usual pellets(usu 4 little ones), but he didn't seem at all interested in the pellets. I was a little concerned when I came after 15min and saw the pellets still there. Then I remembered that he'd feasted on that big fish. I guess he was full. When I got home that night, the fish in there was gone too. The next morning, I only put 2 pellets in there for him.
Timmy usu hides when I approach his tank and doesn't eat until I move away out of sight. But today I decided to just stand there and see what he'd do - they're supposed to get accustomed to being out around the person who feeds them.

He swam around for a while, then swam to his food (3 pellets + 1 mini shrimp) and gobbled them up one after the other. I didn't realize that he'd eat them that fast. Then he swam right out in front of me, looking for more I guess, then he assumed his usual hiding spot under his basking ramp. He came out briefly to sit on top of the ramp but when I turned around to peak at him (his tank is directly behind my computer chair) he dived to his usu spot. Still , we're making progress b/c he ate with me standing right there. Soon he might also stay on his ramp even when he notices me watching. Some turtles are more shy than other and never get over it enough to bask when you're around. But that's ok.

Pet Pictures

That's Timmy trying to climb behind the posts for his basking dock. He has managed to pop out the suction cups at the top so that he can fit behind the posts for the dock-that's his new fav spot. I've tried putting them back in place but he manages to pop them out in no time so I just leave it that way now.


This is the full set-up of his tank - his main hiding spot is behind the black filter on the bottom right of his tank.

My turtle

I got a tank, filter, screen, and other accessories for my new turtle and had it all set up and working for my new pet turtle last night - His full name: Timothy The Turtle aka Timmy T. Turtle or Timmmmy (in my South Park voice). I decided on the name last week. My friends agree that it's a good name for my turtle.

I brought him home tonight. Got him settled in his new home. At first he just hid behind one of the rocks. Then he was trying to get to the surface to breathe and the basking dock was in the way - I almost had a heart attack watching him. I was just about to open the screen to take him out but then he swam around it and was about to breathe. He's fine. I have the tank half-full to accommodate the small filter. I had to move the filter a couple times as Timmy kept swimming too close to the spout and was then pushed back by the filter current. I turned his basking lamp on and when I peaked at him he had climbed on top but as soon as he noticed me he dived back in the water and hid between the rocks. His other fav hiding place is behind the filter. I 'm glad he got up on the dock, I was afraid it might be too much for him as he's so little but he's fine. I think he likes his new home. I'm happy.